Low rate oil flow valve



M. A.' PQWERS 2,644,662

LOW RATE OIL FLOW VALVE July 7, i953 Filed May 20, 1946 2 Sheeis-Shee't l July 79 1953 M. A; POWERS 2,644,662

LOW RATE OIL FLOW VALVE Filed May 2o, 1946 2 sheets-sheet 2 l Ilgl INVENTOR.- M/LToN A ..Pow`ERs.

' Strauch Hoffmantl'arneys.

Patented July 7, 1953 LOW RATE OIL FLOW VALVE Milton A. Powers, Detroit, Mich., assignor to The Timken-Detroit Axle Company, Detroit, Mich.,

a corporation of Ohio Application May 20, 1946', Serial N o. 671,052

1 rl`his invention relates generally to liquid yflow regulating valves and is particularly concerned withV such valves capable of accurate adjustment for low rates of flow of Vliquid therethrough, and for maintaining said'flow substantially constant thereafter.

l' The invention, although suitable for varied uses,` is particularly adapted for use with oil burner systems forcontrolling the rate of gravity 'now of oil to a burner.

'As the cost of domestic burner installation has beenhdecreasing steadily for many years, a constantly increasing percentage of the total number in 'use Yhave found theirway into small homes. In these small homes 'the rate of oil flow for satisfactory heating must not greatly exceed the maximum heat loss of the house, and as new small homes are better insulated even less oil per hour must 4be'` burned for adequate heating. As a matter of fact an oil ow of one gallon per hour isjrelatively large, and on many thousands of installations the maximum allowable oil flow does not 'exceed one-half gallon per hour.

It'is also 4essential Afor efficiency and reliable functioning that this oil ow be as nearly constant as possible at all times and that it remain free from'any clogging action which would tend to reduce the rate of fiow at any time during use.

On the usual installation the head of oil which causes/'the flow from tank to burner is relatively lo'W usually under one pound per square inch pressure. Even so,l the orifice to produce apnehalf gallon per hour flow is quite small'and very sensitive to anyr accumulation of solid foreign matter or adhesion of waxes or gums in theoil.

Fuel supply control valves heretoforevprovided in oil burner systems usuallypompriseacylindrical lvalve stem rotatably 'threadedly mounted and having a portion of its extremity'cut away or slotted" in such, manner "that, Whenit is pro# jected into a' cylindrical passage yor bore `in' a valve body, an 'orifice orvariable size for restrict# ing the flow of fuelis formed between the wall of the passage andthe slotted surface' of the valve stem.- `The size of the orifice so formed depends uponthe axial distance that thevsaid Vvalve Vstern is projected into the said passage. I

'-It has been found that these prior supply-'con`` trolvalve's do not supply fuelat ac onstantrat'e,

due'tothe uncontrolledleakage ofo'il4 between the stein and passage surfaces 'permittedfgby lthe clearances betweenthe control vvalve stern-and the 'passage into whichfit projects. Thesel cleari ancea'which are fin the'order" of'.001-inch to .0 04 inch are madel asA small'as rpractical vto Yavoid 6 Claims. (01251-34) excessive oil leakage, but are necessary as a manufacturing tolerance to accommodate the eccentricity of thervalve stem relative to the passage when the stem is rotated during adjustment. During operation these clearances become clogged by foreign matter in the oil thereby changing the oil yflow rate, and this variation' becomes important at low oil iiow rates.

The present invention removes the need for clearances between the valve stem and the passage, therebyl eliminating uncontrolled leakage around the valve stem and concentrating all controlA in the main adjustable opening which is substantially free from 'such variations. f

In a'preferred embodiment of this invention, a valve stem is projected through the close tting opening of a flat; sided Valve element or washer extremely which otherwise closes -the passage surrounding the valve stem and the vrelative axial displacement of valve stem and the washer determines the size of the orifice Vfor controlling the flow of fuel. The washer is sealingly seated against a fiat annular shoulder face in the valve body by an axially Adirected compression spring but is allowed sufficient radial float during assembly and adjustment to eliminate the eifect of relative valve stem and passage eccentricity as will appear below. The valve stem, being. projected through a shallow thin washer instead of the elongated passage as infpriorvyalves, offers the additional advantage of providing a restricted arear passage for only a short axial distance, thereby rendering less possible any clogging of the said restricted area passage by the fuel oil or foreign particles in the fuel than in prior devices where a longer passage was defined by the stem and bore. l

It is therefore the major'object of this inven-` y metering of fuel ow through the valve.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a Monel or like metal valve seat which is non-magnetic and will resist the corrosive effect of certain organic acids and othei chemicals usually present in some fluid fuels.

Another object of this invention is the embodiment of a normally closed air-bleeder valve for an internal chamber f a fuel ow regulator valve, for purging air pockets from the oil in the valve.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a suitable lip on the valve body which, when the strainer is removed, will deect the ow of the leaking oil to a drain pan, or the like thereby keeping the surfaces of the other parts of the mechanism and the floor free from huid fuel.

These and other objects will become apparent as the specification continues in connection with the appended claims and the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a fluid fuel burner system provided with the improved valve of this invention;

Y Figure 2 is a substantially central section through a valve according a preferred embodiment of this invention along line 2-2 in Figure 3; l

Figure 3 is a section substantially along line 3--3 of lFigure 2, showing the improved fuel supply regulator valve; Y

Figure 4 is a section substantially along line 4 4 of Figure 3 particularly showing the airbleeder valve of this invention; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary lview substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 4 illustrating further details internally of the valve. Y Y

The specification proceeds with continued reference to the drawings` wherein like numerals designate the same parts throughout the several figures. Y.

The diagram of Figure 1 villustrates an oil burner head 2 driven by a suitable electric motor 4, which is connected, to electrical circuit 6 in parallel with a supply control valve I0 which is to, be described below as the preferred embodiment of this invention. From a fuel reservoir I2, a supply conduit I4 runs to supply control valve I0. A distributing conduit I6 runs, from valve I0 to the burner.Y n

Supply valve I9 consists mainly of a bodyv 28 and ra casing I8 secured to the body as by bolts I9. Valve body 2,0 is preferably cast inA one piece and is provided with an inlet aperture 22 which connects to supply line I4 and is provided with an outlet aperture 2,4 which connects to distributingrline I6., Disposed within inlet. 22 Vis a conventional strainer assembly I9 whichis threadedly mounted in body side aperture 2l so as to .be removable for clean out purposes.

Cast integral with valve body directly belowaperture 2I is a downwardly and outwardly extending lip 23. Y When the plug of strainer assembly I9 is, re,- rnoved any oil leaking through aperture 2| will be controllably deflected outwardly so that it may be caught in a drain pan or the like and will not spread over the outer valve surfaces or onto the oor. l

Valve body 20 is internally formed with spaced chambers and 26 having removable drain plugs at the bottom of the body. The upper end of chamber 25 is apertured to receive an upright elongated tubular casing 21 which is closed at its upper end and formed at its lower end with an opening 28 having a valve seat annulus 29 seated therein. The interior of casing 21 is in fluid communication with inlet 22 through lateral openings 30 in the casing, annular passage 3|, bore 32, and strainer assembly I9.

A similar upright casing 33 is secured within the apertured upperv end of chamber 26 and is formed with an opening 34 v'having a valve seat annulus 35. Casing 33 is formed with lateral wall openings 36 which open to a surrounding annular chamber passage 31. The connections between chamber 25 and casing 21, and between chamber 26 and casing 33, are rigid and oiltight so that all oil passing through the casings must pass through bores 28 and 34. f

An intermediate metering chamber 38 is provided about lmidway between annular passages 3lv and 31. Chamber 38 is in direct fluid communication with chamber 25 through an internal body passage 39, and the outlet from chamber 38 is a reduced cylindrical end bore 4I communicating with internal body passage 42 leading to annular passage 31.

Elongated valve members or plungers I43 and 44 having lower conical seat portions adapted to t with valve seats 29 and 35 are slidably mounted and guided within casings 21 and 33, and normally seat under theV force of gravity to close bores 28 and 34. The upper ends of casings 21 and 33 extend above valve body 20 and within suitable electrically parallel solenoid assemblies 45 and 46 within casing I8 and when.

other material of high magnetic permeability,

are end plates 41 and 48 of the solenoids.

Valve seats 29 and 35 are preferably of somev metal or other material which is wear resistant, non-magnetic so as not to tend to stick to they valves when the latter became magnetized and is resistant to the corrosive and chemical action ofthe usual fuel oilsV and the impurities, in them.

Bottom plates 49 and 5Ir of the'solenoids are. fiat and t snugly on suitable flat machined surfaces on the top of body 20. Plates 49 and 5I preferably t snugly about casings 21 and 33 to inhibit leakage of oil upwardly from the. body passages 3I and 31, and suitable concentric annular oil trap grooves 52 are provided in body 2D and shoulders on casings 21 and 33 which seal against entry of dirt or exit of oil.

In operation, when the solenoids are energized to unseat the parallel valves and the burner is operating, oil from reservoir I2 owsrby gravity through conduit I4 to the valve I0, Where it flows through inlet 22, strainer assembly I9, bore 32, passage 3I, openings 30 and` bore 28 to chamber 25. From chamber 25 the oil flows through passage 39, metering chamber 38, bore 4I, passages 42 and 31, openings 36 and bore. 34 into chamber 26, from which latter it emerges through outlet 24 and conduit I6 to the burner. In general the valve and this operation are similar to the sys-l tem and valve disclosed in United States Letters Patent Nos. 1,965,053 and 1,965,054, issued to vapplicant July 3, 1934, to which reference is made for further detail. The present inventionvcomprises vdetails of the above described structure which differ from the disclosure in those patents and in particular comprises the novel metering valve arrangements for controllingthe flow of oil throughr intermediate chamber 38l to be. ,de,, scribed below.

Referring particularly toFiguresiS and 4 ,aiutermediate chamber 38 is in communication with passage42 only through cylindrical bore 4I. A valve stem supporting sleeve 53 horizontally disposed and threadedly mounted in a hollow boss 54 'opening into intermediate chamber 38 serves as an oiltight plugto prevent the communication of chamber 38 withthe atmosphere.

A valve stem55 concentric With bore 4l, is threadedly rotatably mounted within sleeve 53 and has its outer slotted extremity 56 available externally of valve I8 for manipulation by a screw driveror the like. The inner reduced cylindrical extremity 51 of valve stem 55 projects through the close tting circular aperture of a thin hat metalannular valve element or washer 58 into bore 4I. The peripheral surface of cylindrical extremity 51 is formed with a slot or groove59,v which is. of generally increasing size toward the inner end of the valve stem. Inwardly of bore 4i, chamber 38 is formed with a flat machined valve seat 6l concentric with and in a plane perpendicular .to the axis ofbore 4l. Element 58 is resiliently axiallyurged into flat oiltightrsealing engagement with. seat 6I as` by a coiled compression spring 62 surrounding `the ,valve stem and reacting between sleeve 53 and washer element 58, but is capable of radial sliding on seat 6| without destroying Vthe .oiltight seal.

Preferably valve stem extremity .51 fits within the thin circular opening of element 58 with a minimum clearance to permit relative axial displacement of the two whenthe valve stem is rotated. This clearance can be made very small, in the order of .0005 inch and there is substantially no oil leakage through element 58 along the cylindrical surface of extremity 51. The clearance between extremity 51 and bore 4 l which was critical in prior type valves such as those in the above cited patents, is no longer important and can be made as large as desired. Oil leakage outwardly along valve stem 55 is prevented by a suitable gland assembly indicated at 63.

Horizontally disposed within valve body is passage 64 which opens into the top of metering chamber 38. Disposed within passage 64 and having its body threadedly engaged therewith is bleeder valveV member 66. Conical valve-shank 61 of valve member 66 iscapable of seating on a tapered shoulder 68 of passage 64 thereby closing the passage at that point. A bleeder passage 69 is open to the atmosphere and connects to passage 64 outwardly of shoulder 68. Valve 66 is normally closed, but may be opened to release air pockets that may enter with the oil and become trapped in chamber 38. Y

During operation the flow of fuel through intermediate chamber 38 is restricted by the orifice formed between valve stem extremity 51 and thin element 58. When the valve stem is adjusted by rotating it within sleeve 53, the size of the orifice is varied. Since slot or groove 59 is preferably cut progressively deeper toward the inner end of .the valve stem, rotation of valve stem 55 to advance itto the left in Figure 3 progressively and uniformly decreases the area of the orifice, and opposite rotation of stem 55 progressively and uniformly increases the area of the orifice.

The outer diameter of element 58 being smaller than the diameter of seat 6l permits the element suicient clearance to shift radially as may be required by any eccentricity in the valve stem as the latter is screwed either in or out for adjustment. During this radial shift element 58 remains oil tight with face 6I as urged by spring 62. mentioned above the clearancebetween valve stem 55 and bore 4I ismade adequately large to take care of all possible ,eccentricities Itis apparent that no manufacturing tolerance need be provided to compensate for any relative eccentricity between the valve stem and the open,-A

ing of element 58 during either assembly or adjustment. Therefore a. close but sliding fit is maintained between them assuring 'thatan accurate. control of the flow of the fuel can be main-- tained even at a very low feeding rate.

An important improvement ofthe invention over the prior metering valves of the above cited patents is that in theinvention the orifice is thin-walled in an axial direction. This reduces the tendency of foreign particles to lodge ,within and clog the orifice and promotes continuous even flow of oil. V

, Valve members 43 and 44 remain in their uppermost positions until ythe circuit to the burner motor is opened, at which time the solenoid coils will be de-energized permitting the valve members to move to their lower positions shownin Figure 2, due to gravity.

It will be noted that the valve members 4 3,vand 44. areme'chanically independent of each other.v Therefore,` when the solenoid coils are de-energized, the valve members are freeto fall in, dependently of each other and, if a foreignbody in the oil prevents the seating of one valve,Y the remaining valve is notv affected `and .acts in a normal way in stopping the flow of the voil through valve i8. n

Air which may become pocketed in intermediate chamber 38 of valve body 20 may be bled from the system by bleeder valve 66.` When the bleeder valve is unseated the pressure ofthe fuel will force the pocketed air through pas. sage 64 and bleeder passage 69 into thepatmosphere.

The plugs in lower extremities of chambers 25 and 26 maybe removed for the purpose of cleaningY out the valve body. Conventional strainer assembly I9 is made removable for cleaning purposes, and lip 23 directs the escap-Vv ing uids into a drain pan thereby keeping clean the valve body and all other parts.

It is not essential that valve stem extremity 51 be cylindrical or that the cooperating slidable surfaces of extremity 51 and element 58 have any particular contour other than the provision of special groove or slot 59.

The invention m-ay be embodied in other specie forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalencyv of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is' claimed and desired to be s'ecurediby United States Letters Patent is: 1.-'In a'uid iiow control valve, a valve bod having van'ap'erture surrounded by a: radial valve seat face, anV axially thin apertured valve element slidably disposed against said face, resilient means for urging said element against said face with suflicient force to provide substantially fiuidtight engagement of said element with said face while permitting substantially radial movement of said element on said face, an axially movable valve stem rotatably mounted on its longitudinal axis'andhaving aportion. of longi-v tudinally uniform size projecting through said apertures` in the element with a vsliding. substantiallyy fluidtight. t,.and a groove whichisfappreciably longer than the thickness of said element at said aperture and is of ch-anging size in said longitudinal direction formed'k on the outer surface'of. said valve stern portion'. and cooperatingA Withfsaid element: to provide a fluid metering orice that is varied in size when said valve stem is axially moved, and said element being capable of radial iioat on saidface to effectively compensate for any eccentricities in the valveV stem When the latter is rotated.

2. In a valve assembly, a valve body having an internal chamber provided with uid inlet and outlet openings, a flat radial. Valve seat face surrounding said outlet opening, an axially thin l apertured valve element, resilient means urging operating With said element to provide an axially thin fluid meteringr orice, said orice being varied in size when said valve stem isY rotated to axially displace said inner portion, and said element having radial float on said face in the event of eccentricity of 'said valve stem during rotation.

3. In the valve assembly defined in claim2. said valve element being a thin flat washer-like element.

4. In a iiuid flow control valve, a passage having anvend surrounded by a flat valve seating face, aV thin fiat valve element, ymeans for resiliently'axially urging said element against said face in substantially fluidtight relation, said element being apertured, a valve stem mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis and having a portion of uniform size longitudinally projecting through said aperture in slidable engagement With said element with .such accurateV t and small clearance that Ylovv of uid along the relagreater' than the axial distance of peripheral sliding contact between said valve stem portion and said thin at valve element so as to provide an 'axially thin non-clogging metering orifice.

5'. In`a liquid QWnQntrOIIVaIVH-,a bodyhaving an opening, a substantiallyradial fdatv 'face surrounding one side of saidxopening, a thin an-Y nular valve. plate mounted on said face with, its

aperture. substantially aligned with. said opening an axiallyxmovable .valve stem mounted onsaid body and having a portion of uniform sizey along. its length in substantially liquidtight sliding en= gagement With said. aperture, va compressed spring surrounding lsaid valve stem portion. and urging said'plateY againstV said seat, and a longitudinal groove of changing: size in the periphery of said valve stem portion where the latter projects through said plate, said groove having a, length appreciably greater thanY the axial distance of contact between said valve stem por;- tion and. said plate and cooperating With said plate aperture to provide an axially thin; liquid orice for metering flow of liquid through. said opening.-

6. In a liquid now control device, .a member having an opening, a substantially radial fiat face surrounding said opening on one side, a. thin washer having .a circular aperture smaller than said opening slidably mounted on said at face with said'r aperture defining. an axially short surface, a spring urging said washer against. said face, anvaxially movable valve stem having a cylindricalend portion extending through said aperture in substantially liquidtight sliding engagement With said axially short surface, anda longitudinal groove appreciably longer than said axially short surface andof changing sizeV along Y its length formed in the. periphery of said valve stem end portion Where the latter projects through saidl Washer, said groove cooperating with said washer to provide an axially thin liquid orifice for metering flow of Vfluid through said opening. f Y 'y MILTON A.. POWERS.

Referene'es paedin the fue, f this patent .UNTTEDv STATES PATENTS Number Naine Date 424,715 Knickerbacker Apr. 1, 1890 868,757 Bennett. Oct. 22, 1907 991,550 Sjerrell May 9, 1911 1,039,391.. Hazelip Sept. 24, 1912 1,391,403 Rapp Sept. 20, 1921 1,585,726 ALavvton May 25, 1926 1,804,462 Eggleston May 17, 1931 1,918,891 BarrettY July 18, 1933 1,936,975 Wasson Nov. 28, 1933 1,965,053 Powers July 3, 1934 1,965,054 Powers July 3, 1934 2,197,271 l Kerrick Apr, 16, 1940 2,206,361 Mackay July 2, 1940 2,330,610 Natter Sept.'28, 1943 2,375,980 Du Charme May 15, 1945 2,398,370 'Gentzel Apr. 16, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 93 Italy of 1889 24,189 Great. Britain of 1912 

